Relationships between a top-middle management self-description scale and behavior in a group situation

Abstract

How valid is the Decision-Making Approach scale (DMA)? "The results of this study… show that scores obtained on a scale developed from the differential self-perceptions of top and middle management personnel are significantly related to the type of behavior that a person exhibits in an actual group situation where some task must be performed. Specifically, those individuals who score higher on the DMA scale behave, in terms of verbal interaction with others, relatively more like top management personnel describe themselves than do persons who score lower on the DMA scale. Also, those individuals who score higher on the top-middle management self-description scale are seen by their peers in the group situation to behave and appear relatively more like top management individuals than do those who score lower on the scale. The results would appear to indicate that the DMA scale has some validity for predicting an individual's behavior in a situation where top or middle management types of verbal action are relevant." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)